This invention relates to a device for preventing the theft of motor vehicles and more particularly to a lock for a vehicle hood release which also disables the ignition coil or starter relay of a motor vehicle.
Vehicle theft in the United States is such a big business that even organized crime is involved. Vehicles are even stolen to order. Because of these developments, a vehicle owner is constantly on the alert for a device which can protect the vehicle.
Some vehicles are extremely susceptible to being stolen. These vehicles are generally in the sports or luxury classes. Within the sports class are the four-wheel drive vehicles and sports automobiles. Typical of the sports automobiles is the Corvette by Chevrolet. The Corvette is such a popular vehicle, that clubs, having membership restricted to Corvette owners, exist from coast to coast in the United States.
Unfortunately, the Corvette is also a very popular vehicle with thieves. In fact, the Corvette has one of the highest rates of being stolen in comparison to other car models. This rate of stealing leads to higher insurance rates and a substantial increase in the cost of ownership. A stolen vehicle is also a great inconvenience for the owner. For these reasons and other reasons, Corvette owners take great pains to protect their vehicles.
The key factor in vehicle theft is time. The more quickly a thief can get the vehicle started and moving, the safer a thief can feel. The main purpose of any antitheft device is to cause the thief to spend such a substantial amount of time in the vehicle that it is dangerous for the thief to remain long enough near the immobile vehicle in his attempt to steal the vehicle. If given enough time, a thief can overcome almost any antitheft device.
In response to this market for devices which prevent or delay vehicle theft, many devices to protect these vehicles are available in the art. In particular, these devices are centered around locking the hood and disabling the ignition so that the vehicle cannot be started. Locking of the hood prevents an ignition bypass. Shorting of the ignition prevents starting of the vehicle even if the ignition switch is pulled. So it is clear that these devices have a use in prevention of vehicle theft.
The combination hood locking and ignition disabling devices suffer from certain problems. First, a resourceful thief can bypass some of these devices. Second, that same thief can merely break off the device and rupture the mechanism used. The thief can also use other methods completing his illegal task.
Also the vehicle owner can have problems with the combination device which locks the hood and disables the ignition. Such a device must be easy to set, easy to release and difficult for a thief to bypass. These features are, at the same time, desirable and contradictory. The features are desirable in that the vehicle is made harder to steal. The features are contradictory because ease of setting and ease of release imply that a thief can easily bypass the device.
It may also be inconvenient for a vehicle to have such a device on the vehicle--especially when the vehicle is left in a valet parking lot. If the device is set with the ignition disabled out, the valet cannot start the vehicle with the key. If the device is not set, access under the hood can be obtained with the resulting loss of the battery or other essential equipment. Thus valet parking can require that the device not be set. The device then becomes useless, unless the hood can be locked without disabling the ignition.
A Corvette hood generally opens from the rear by the windshield as opposed to the front opening of most vehicles. This feature can cause problems with the design of a lock for a hood release, for it is sometimes desirable to leave a lock for a hood release unlocked but have the hood remain secured. If a suitable lock for a hood release can be developed, it must be capable of use as desired. For example, it must be capable of being set, unset with the hood secured (for example, when the hood is to be used frequently), or unset with the hood unsecured or open. In this fashion, both convenience and safety can be provided if desired.
The various models of Corvette require adaptations for a hood release lock in order to permit a one style of hood release lock to fit various models. Such adaptations must be made without weakening the protective capabilities of the device. Such features may well be contradictory due to the desirable quality of such adaptation on the one hand; and the chance of the adaptation permitting the device to be more easily bypassed.
Thus, a device for preventing theft of a vehicle, or at least makes the vehicle more difficult to steal is of great advantage to the art.